As the book of Exodus continues its painstakingly detailed account of the building of the Mishkan, (a portable sanctuary for God) this week, I am struck by a curious design feature credited to the craftsman Betzalel. Parsha Vayak’heil describes Betzalel creating an ark out of acacia wood, and topping it with two golden kruvim, or “cherubs” with their wings outspread, facing one another. According to biblical scholarship, cherubs in the Torah are a kind of angel, whose purpose is often to serve as a messenger between God and the people. Our Torah teaches that once the mishkan was built, God would speak from the empty space between the k’ruvim.
The fact that the k’ruvim stood face to face feels significant, particularly when coupled with a teaching from Talmud that comes to describe later k’ruvim which decorated the temple in Jerusalem. When the children of Israel followed God’s will, they said, these kruvim faced each other lovingly. When the children of Israel disobeyed, the kruvim turned their backs on each other.
Notes Rabbi Rachel Barenblatt, “What happens when we bring those two teachings together?” When we follow the mitzvot — loving one’s neighbor, one’s “other,” as oneself; treating the earth with respect and letting her rest as needed; acting with justice and mercy — then the kruvim face each other, and God speaks from the place between them. They face each other when we face each other. Beyond spatial closeness, we can understand this to mean that God speaks from the spiritually charged space of relationship. However we choose to connect, God fills the space between us when we listen lovingly for what we can learn together.
By Rabbi Laura Rumpf